Gombe Field Research
The site of Dr. Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking research, Tanzania’s Gombe National Park has changed our understanding of animals and altered our perception of what it means to be human. Since 1960, Goodall and her peers have observed generations of the area’s chimpanzees. The behaviors they recorded—chimpanzees making and using tools, hunting prey and even waging warfare—exceeded the boundaries of what was previously thought possible, capturing worldwide attention and galvanizing global conservation efforts.
Today, Lincoln Park Zoo is proud to partner with the Jane Goodall Institute on a number of research projects in Gombe National Park. Zoo scientists take advantage of the resources that have been established over nearly half a century to study chimpanzee health, chimpanzee play and the mother-infant relationship in the species. The answers our scientists find through this partnership will be integral to learning more about chimpanzees and, ultimately, ourselves.
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News
Chimpanzee Central
Graduate researcher Matt Heintz provides highlights from his six months studying chimpanzee play in Gombe National Park. View the slideshow!
Posted on 2 February 2010 | 4:22 pm
A Wonderful Morning with the Chimpanzees
The rest of the Lincoln Park Zoo crew arrived a couple days ago, including Dominic Travis, D.V.M., Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., Felix Lankester, D.V.M., and Colleen O’Donnell. We spent the entire day meeting with our partners at the Jane Goodall Institute’s Gombe Stream Research Centre to review progress on various health, endocrine and training initiatives.
Read more »Posted on 21 December 2009 | 11:13 am
Gone "Chimping"
I’m now in Gombe, which I’m finding very difficult to compare to Serengeti. Gombe is gorgeous, although it’s way more compact and there’s much less biodiversity. In the way of animals, I have only seen insects, toads and baboons down near camp. There are very few birds here because they can’t really lay eggs, as the chimpanzees would easily find them and feast on them.
I was able to go hiking up the rift this morning to go “chimping,” which means hiking up a steep rift through forest for about an hour-and-a-half until we reach the chimps. Every hike is led by a field guide, who most of the time doubles as a researcher, collecting data for Lincoln Park Zoo behavior and health projects. Our guide, Matendo, has worked with the project for many years now and can easily identify each chimp by name on sight.
Read more »Posted on 17 December 2009 | 4:21 pm
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